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Abu-d Dardaa
eBook: Companions of The Prophet
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... continued from Page 1
Once he passed a group of people crowding around a man. They began insulting and beating the man. He came up to them and said: "What's the matter?"
"This is a man who has committed a grave sin," they replied.
"What do you think you would do if he had fallen into a well?" asked Abu-d Dardaa. "Wouldn't you try to get him out?"
"Certainly," they said. "Don't insult him and don't beat him. Instead admonish him and make him aware of the consequences of what he had done. Then give praise to God Who has preserved you from falling into such a sin."
"Don't you hate him?" they asked Abu-d Dardaa.
"I only detest what he had done and if he abandons such practice, he is my brother." The man began to cry and publicly announced his repentance.
A youth once came up to Abu-d Dardaa and said: "Give me advice, O companion of the Messenger of God," and Abu-d Dardaa said to him: "My son, remember Allah in good times and He will remember you in times of misfortune. My son, be knowledgeable, seek knowledge, be a good listener and do not be ignorant for you will be ruined. My son, let the masjid be your house for indeed I heard the Messenger of God say: The masjid is the house of every God-conscious person and God Almighty has guaranteed serenity, comfort, mercy and staying on the path leading to His pleasure, to those for whom masjids are their houses."
On another occasion, there was a group of people sitting in the street, chatting and looking at passers-by. Abu-d Dardaa came up to them and said: "My sons, the monastery of a Muslim man is his house in which he controls himself and lowers his gaze. Beware of sitting in market-places because this fritters away time in vain pursuits."
While Abu-d Dardaa was in Damascus, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, its governor, asked him to give his daughter in marriage to his (Muawiyah's) son, Yazid. Abu-d Dardaa did not agree. Instead he gave his daughter in marriage to a young man from among the poor whose character and attachment to Islam pleased him. People heard about this and began talking and asking: Why did Abu-d Dardaa refuse to let his daughter marry Yazid? The question was put to Abu-d Dardaa himself and he said: "I have only sought to do what is good for ad-Dardaa." That was his daughter's name. "How?" enquired the person. "What would you think of ad-Dardaa if servants were to stand in her presence serving her and if she were to find herself in palaces the glamour of which dazzled the eyes? What would become of her religion then?"
While Abu-d Dardaa was still in Syria, the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab came on an inspection tour of the region. One night he went to visit Abu-d Dardaa at his home. There was no light in the house. Abu-d Dardaa welcomed the Caliph and sat him down. The two men conversed in the darkness. As they did so, Umar felt Abu-d Dardaa's "pillow" and realized it was an animal's saddle. He touched the place where Abu-d Dardaa lay and knew it was just small pebbles. He also felt the sheet with which he covered himself and was astonished to find it so flimsy that it couldn't possibly protect him from the cold of Damascus. Umar asked him: "Shouldn't I make things more comfortable for you? Shouldn't I send something for you?"
"Do you remember, Umar," said Abu-d Dardaa, "a Hadith which the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, told us?"
"What is it?" asked Umar.
"Did he not say: Let what is sufficient for anyone of you in this world be like the provisions of a rider? "
"Yes," said Umar.
"And what have we done after this, O Umar?" asked Abu-d Dardaa.
Both men wept no doubt thinking about the vast riches that had come the way of Muslims with the expansion of Islam and their preoccupation with amassing wealth and worldly possessions. With deep sorrow and sadness, both men continued to reflect on this situation until the break of dawn.